Prune Juice or Prunes

[giggles]

Assuming this is the best way to fight away the constipation my DD has at the moment but how do I give her prunes? What do I buy at the shop and do I have to prepare them at all?

Prune juice being an alternative, can I give it to her undiluted and how much would you recommend?

At the moment I am just trying to get her to drink more water and this morning we tried some apples but the poor mite is having real trouble. We both end up in tears when she tries! :crying:

Any other remedies for constipation appreciated.

[pegasus]

The whole reason to give prunes is to give bubba fibre. After reading the level of fibre in the juice, I figured they are only prunes in name, not in nature.

I started giving DS prunes boiled in water to soften then pureed - I was surprised how much he loved them. Just adjust the amount of water you add as to how strong you want them. I froze the mixture in icecube trays, and would mix a block with Farex (or some other cereal). He now will quite happily munch on a prune fresh out of the pack. (Pitted of course).:p

[giggles]

Thanks so much Pegasus!

I'm not a prune fan myself so am a bit ignorant - do I just get them from the dried fruit section in the supermarket?

[pegasus]

Yeah - try the dried fruit section. I first started looking for something when DS first went onto solids and went to buy prune juice - didn't do anything, but has less than one gram of fibre. I ended up giving coloxyl drops, but only give prunes now. Coloxyl drops are fine, but apparently hard to get at the moment (my sister is a pharmacist and asked me for the rest of mine the other day for her DS - 3months so can't have prunes) as she can't get them in for her two pharmacies.

[Oscar's mum]

Pears or Pear Juice can also act as a good laxative.:)

[ElizaDee]

My dr said that pears are actually better than prunes at realieving constipation. :)

I am drinking berri apple and pear juice to help with mine.

[bec79]

My DD has the same problem ATM. I have just started giving her pureed prunes mixed with farex over the last two days. There has been no change yet. She is still struggling to go. How long should I try the prunes before moving onto coloxyl? I wanted to stick to a natural remedy if possible. BTW, I had the same trouble getting coloxyl..had to ring about 8 chemists to find it. Apparently the people who are making it have stopped.

[pegasus]

The coloxyl still takes about 2days to work (as does pears and prunes).

I still think the key is the fibre - regardless of whether you use pears or prunes - check the fibre of the juice - you might be surprised.

I'll ask my sister about the production of the coloxyl.

[2littleprincesses]

My DD is 2.5y and often has trouble going. I've increased her fibre intake by giving her foods higher in fibre and I also put a fibre supplement in her juice once a day so I know she's getting more than she was. But she still has trouble.

A few months ago there was no supply of Coloxyl drops, but I managed to get some before Christmas. HAve they stopped supplying them again? They do work, sometimes I have to give her 2 doses. I've also tried Parachoc but that makes the nappies realllllllllly messsssssy IYKWIM ;) DD also will eat a prune if offered.

[cobysmummy]

be careful with the prunes... i gave my son some as he was constipated.. then for over a week later he had gastro and was admitted to hospital :eek: .. not 100% sure there was a link but im not taking the risk again!!

[pegasus]

Cobysmummy - don't know when you gave the prunes but yeah - it can be shock to the system. That's why I always cooked the prunes in some water and only gave one iceblock size to start with to see what it would do. So my thought is start gradually.

[giggles]

orright!!!! We had prunes and apple for tea last night and I don't know if it was them, but all seems well this morning in Nappyland.

They were surprisingly tasty too :D I must say even I enjoyed them so we shared dinner.

What does Derryn say............"Make fibre your friend"

Thanks all for your help!

[cobysmummy]

i boiled them in water and mushed them up and only gave him a teaspoon a day to help... and boy he wasnt constipated afterwards i tell you... his nappies were leaking every half hour... i didnt over do the prunes... or give him too much

[giggles]

I did about 10 prunes in some water and pureed them and she has had about a teaspoon in with some apple.

I have just frozen the rest in ice cubes for emergency use :thumbsup:

[amymay]

my 6.5 months old suffers and i have been able to get coloxy drops. my pharmacist friends said they are back in stock. i purchased them last week in the adelaide area from a green dispensary pharmacy. :smiliedance:

i give my son prune juice everyday but i dont seem to think it helps, i will try pears now....

amy :)

[zenifa]

As there has been the odd day here and there that my DD hasn't done a #2 since starting solids - I alternate between giving her pureed pears in pear juice and either pureed prunes/prune juice.

I soaked the prunes, then boiled them up, pitted them and then pureed. As not all the prune juice was needed to puree, I've kept that and give it to her instead of water (there is no sugar and its not concentrated). I now try to keep some pear/prunes in the freezer, as you just never know when you might need it. They are quite sweet, so I haven't found that I need to mix it with rice cereal or any other food.

My CHN also said that some boiled water with a little brown/raw sugar dissolved is also good to relieve constipation and hey it helps in getting bubs to drink water in addition to breastmilk.

[Tam-I-Am]

Careful giving stuff to relieve constipation in farax - rice cereal is known to exacerbate constipation! When bubba Claire was constipated I tried everything - it eventually relieved itself. Now she has one really disgusting nappy per day!

Good luck!